The Russian lawyer and the ex-Soviet spy who met with Don Jr. held a controversial film party at an elite Washington venue last summer with assistance from a prominent Republican congressman.

Invitations for the private film screening were distributed by the office of Dana Rohrabacher, a high-ranking member of the House foreign affairs committee.

The email invited congressional staffers to attend a 'special screening of The Magnitsky Act' – a documentary critical of the late Russian dissident Sergei Magnitsky – at the Newseum, a journalism museum just blocks from the Capitol Building.

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya represented the group that organized the June 13, 2016 event - which was four days after she met Donald Trump Jr at Trump Tower.

Also present was Rinat Akmetshin, the former Soviet spy who on Friday admitted he was at the Don Jr meeting too.

Exclusive pictures obtained by DailyMail.com show both of them in Newseum, Veselnitskaya at the pre-event reception, and Akmetshin on the roof of the building on the sidelines of a television interview.

Heart of the elite: The Newseum is at the heart of Washington D.C. and its elite social scene. Natalia Veselnitskaya was in the middle of the mingling over wine and hors d'oeuvres at the screening of the controversial movie

In the shadows: Rinat Akmetshin was seen in pictures exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com. Days earlier he had been at the meeting with Donald Trump Jr at Trump Tower

Finger food and wine: Natalia Veselnitskaya was the host for the reception before the screening. The Newseum declined to disclose who paid for the event and how much. THe elite venue is dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press

Chatting: Natalia Veselnitskaya was seen deep in conversation with people at the reception

How the message was sent: This is the invitation obtained by DailyMail.com and the email it came attached to - from an intern at Dana Rohrabacher's office who was later appointed by the Trump transition team to work in the State Department

Assistance: The office of Dana Rohrabacher said the office was not aware of the invitation. He said none of the event organizers asked the office for assistance.

Photos of the pre-movie cocktail reception show Veselnitskaya chatting with the filmmaker, Andrei Nekrasov, surrounded by attendees sipping glasses of wine as uniformed waiters serve trays of hors d'oeuvres.

The screening was followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by celebrity journalist Seymour Hersh.

A handful of political staffers attended the premier, including two from Rohrabacher's office, one from Rep. Eliot Engel's office, and two officials from the State Department.

A Rohrabacher committee aide sent out the invitation with the subject line 'Special Screening of The Magnitsky Act.'

The email included a glowing review of the film, instructions on RSVP, and a copy of the official invite.

'Mr. Nekrasov's film explodes the common view that Mr. Magnitsky was a whistleblower, killed when he called attention to a large-scale, state-sponsored theft of taxes paid by companies owned by Hermitage Capital Management, an investment fund headed by William Browder,' said the email.

'Mr. Browder, who features prominently in the film, has spent years convincing international audiences that Mr. Magnitsky's death symbolizes the most ruthless and rapacious side of Vladimir Putin's Russia.'

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Here she is again: Natalia Veselnitskaya was seated just behind Michael McFaul, a former Obama ambassador to Russia, as he gave evidence to the House Foreign Affairs Committee the day after the screening. McFaul says he has never met her; she was speaking in seats open to the public

No transparency here: The Newseum refused to say who paid for the hire of its space and how much they had paid. It tells visitors: 'People have a need to know. Journalists have a right to tell.'

Notorious: The disclosure of Natalia Veselnitskaya's meeting with Donald Trump Jr has sent shockwaves through Washington and plunged his father's presidency further into crisis

A spokesperson for Rohrabacher said the office was not aware of the invitation. He said none of the event organizers asked the office for assistance.

'Our staff was not asked to help out. Two of our staffers went to the event, one stayed for the screening after the reception,' said communications director Ken Grubbs.

Grubbs said a few Rohrabacher staffers 'crossed paths with her at a screening of the Magnitsky film. Nothing of substance was discussed.'

Two State Department officials have also been said to be there.

The film was controversial for its portrayal of Sergei Magnitsky, a dissident attorney who died in Russian prison in 2009 after making claims about Russian government corruption. Magnitsky's supporters hail him as a hero and a whistleblower and hold the Russian government responsible for his death in prison at age 37.

The documentary claims Magnitsky was actually complicit in the fraud he exposed, giving Russian officials good reason to imprison him. This narrative has been backed by the Russian government, which denies wrongdoing in Magnitsky's death and objects to the U.S. sanctions in response.

The Newseum came under fire for hosting the event, but defended the decision as a free speech issue.

The museum often advocates on first amendment issues, and its walls bear the inscription: 'People have a need to know. Journalists have a right to tell…A free press at its best reveals the truth.'

PARTY VENUE TRUMPETS THE RIGHT TO KNOW - BUT WON'T SAY WHO PAID TO RENT THEIR SPACE

The Newseum, a journalism museum in Washington, D.C., drew some criticism from Kremlin opponents for hosting

The Magnitsky Act, a controversial documentary that took a critical view of the late attorney and Russian dissident Sergei Magnitsky.

However, the museum said it would hold the event because of its unequivocal support for freedom of speech.

The Newseum opened its doors in 2008 and is located just blocks from the Capitol Building.

Its board includes CNN parent company Time Warner's executive vice president Gary L. Ginsberg, former USA Today editor Peter S. Prichard and CBS News executive editor Steve Capus, and founding partners include the New York Times, NBC News, ABC News and Time Warner.

It describes itself as 'a nonpartisan foundation that champions the First Amendment as a cornerstone of democracy.'

The museum's walls bear the inscription: 'People have a need to know. Journalists have a right to tell…A free press at its best reveals the truth.'

At the time of the screening it rejected calls for it to be canceled because of the museum's commitment to freedom of speech.

However, the museum declined to tell the DailyMail.com who booked the event space for the movie screening and how much it cost.

It is in fact alleged that the screening was paid for by Potomac Squared, a Washington public relations firm also hired by Katsyv.

However, the museum declined to tell the DailyMail.com who booked the screening event space and how much it cost.

'We don't share publicly who has rented our space,' said spokesperson Sonya Gavankar. She could not provide the cost, but said events at the venue can run between $2,000 and $100,000.

The success of the movie was limited, with protesters

The movie was part of an extensive lobbying campaign spearheaded by Veselnitskaya's boss, Russian businessman Denis Katsyv, to roll back a suite of U.S. sanctions on Russia known as the Magnitsky Act.

The Magnitsky Act targets Russian officials and companies that the U.S. government has linked to the death of Magnitsky.

Grubbs said the Rohrabacher's office did not help Veselnitskaya or any of her lobbying associates when they were seeking meetings on the Hill last June.

But one of Rohrabacher's long-time aides, Paul Behrends, was spotted at the time accompanying lobbyists working with Veselnitskaya to meet with congressional offices.

The lobbyists reportedly met with Rep. Gregory Meeks, and attempted to set up meetings with Rep. French Hill and Rep. Jim McGovern.

Behrends also recommended Veselnitskaya as a potential witness for a committee hearing on Russia.

'Paul Behrends learned that Veselnitskaya wanted to testify as a witness before the committee but that there was no interest from committee Members. He did not pursue it,' said Grubbs.

The day after the movie premier, Rohrabacher was also photographed chatting with the filmmaker Nekrasov in the hallway after a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Russia.

Nekrasov had attended the hearing with Veselnitskaya, who sat in the front row directly behind then-U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

The hearing took place just a few days after Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump's son, Don Jr., under pretenses of giving him dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

Democrats have pointed to the meeting as a sign of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Veselnitskaya is a Russian national whose client, Denis Katsyv, is the son of a prominent Russian official.

However, Don Jr. claimed Veselnitskaya never produced any relevant information on Clinton. He said she spent their meeting at Trump Tower talking about the repercussions of the Magnitsky Act, which she was lobbying against at the time.

Veselnitskaya, who does not speak English, spoke to Don Jr. through a translator. Jared Kushner and Trump's then-campaign manager Paul Manafort also attended the meeting.

The U.S. government had made special arrangements for Veselnitskaya to stay in the U.S. while she was representing her client, Katsyv, whose companies were accused of a $200 million tax fraud scheme.

Federal prosecutors unexpectedly settled the lengthy and high-profile case with Katsyv in May, requiring him to pay around $6 million in penalties.